Warning: SPOILERS for The Gilded Age Season 3, Episode 4 - “Marriage Is a Gamble.”
The Gilded Ageseason 3, episode 4 ends with the grand wedding that has been built up since Bertha Russell first set eyes upon the Duke of Buckingham.The Gilded Ageseason 3has arguably already become the show’s strongest showing yet, and episode 4’s balance between some characters' life-changing moments and others' more personal, quiet revelations makes that clear.
Following Gladys' engagement inThe Gilded Ageseason 3, episode 3’s ending, wedding preparations consume the Russell household. WhileCarrie Coon’s Bertha Russell is thrilled to be marrying her daughter offto Hector, Duke of Buckingham,Gladys is demonstrably less excited about her future, but she ultimately says “I do” at the end.
Gladys Russell And The Duke of Buckingham Get Married
Bertha Russell’s Plans Finally Come To Fruition
Bertha Russell may have been completely fulfilled by Gladys marrying the Duke, butthe youngest Russell was far from happy about her fate by the end ofThe Gilded Ageseason 3, episode 4. The show masterfully focuses on Bertha for the first half of the episode, with audiences barely seeing Gladys at all on her big day.
This choice to frame the day through Bertha and the staff’s preparations worked very well because itallowed audiences to truly understand how removed Gladys felt through that entire processand understand exactly where she was at mentally. Ultimately, though, Gladys does decide to marry Hector, Duke of Buckingham.
Outside of Gladys' rather somber feelings about her own wedding, the event is clearly a triumph for Bertha.
For Gladys, her wedding is a sad occasion, asGeorge Russell walks his daughter down the aisle with tears in her eyes. For a moment, it seems as if Gladys won’t say yes, but as soon as she does,The Gilded Agecuts to the married couple leaving New York on a ship, where Gladys is pressured to lose her virginity to her new husband.
Outside of Gladys' rather somber feelings about her own wedding, the event is clearly a triumph for Bertha. Everyone important attends, and there is plenty of talk about the event both before and during. However, even with all of New York’s high society attending, some people in the crowd knowthere may be consequences for Bertha’s actions.
Jack Trotter Sells His Clock & Becomes Rich
Jack’s Business Deal With Larry Is Successful For Both Parties
Jack Trotter’s invention of a better alarm clockhas been an ongoing plot forThe Gilded Agesince season 2, and Jack finally hit it big in season 3, episode 4. After spending the past few episodes looking for investors for the clock, Jack and Larry Russell struck gold, but not exactly in the way they expected.
Rather than finding a business partner to work with them, the pair received a request from Mr. Weston to buy the clock and patent outright for a huge sum of money. After Larry negotiated with Mr. Weston and his accountant to drive the price up,they ultimately settled on $600,000, making both men very rich.
For his half, Jack received $300,000, which would allow him to quit his job and never work again if he wanted.
For his half, Jack received $300,000, which would allow him to quit his job and never work again if he wanted. After the meeting, Jack is disoriented and unsure of what to do now that his life has changed completely, but after confiding in Mrs. Bauer,he decides he does not want to leave the Van Rhijn household.
Mrs. Astor Faces A Divorce Scandal
Mrs. Astor’s Daughter Becomes The Talk Of New York
Mrs. Astor has been the arbiter of high society’s rules throughoutThe Gilded Age, but season 3 is now showing thateven the great Mrs. Astor can’t avoid scandals within her family. Audiences knew going in thatThe Gilded Ageseason 3 would be about divorce, but now the topic is coming up for multiple characters, including Charlotte Astor.
Hannah Shealey plays Charlotte Astor inThe Gilded Ageseason 3.
Following rumors in the paper of an affair between two prevalent people in society, gossip starts circulating about Mrs. Astor’s daughter, Charlotte, and the affair she had while abroad. The papers claim thatCharlotte’s husband challenged the man she had an affair with to a duel, reflecting poorly on Charlotte and her family.
Unsurprisingly, Mrs. Astor does everything she can to stifle the gossip, but audiences know how cliquey and messyThe Gilded Age’s characters can be. Once the papers are out, there is little she can do to stop the talking, butMrs. Astor certainly tries to force her daughter into hiding inThe Gilded Ageseason 3, episode 4.
The Gilded Ageseason 3, episode 5 “A Different World” will premiere on HBO Max on July 14, 2025, at 9 pm EST.
While Mrs. Astor forces Charlotte to skip Gladys' wedding to avoid attention, Charlotte is not willing to go quietly.She points out to her mother the irony of forcing her to stay marriedwhile her father is always with other women, proving that even Mrs. Astor’s power is starting to wane.
Peggy Faces More Discrimination From Elizabeth Kirkland
Mrs. Kirkland Does Not Try To Hide Her Prejudices At All
After her troubling connection to her boss, T. Thomas Fortune, inThe Gilded Ageseason 2,Peggy Scott’s new love interest, Dr. William Kirkland, seemed a better match for Miss Scott. William and Peggy certainly do have a good connection, butthere is one key factor that stands in the way of their happiness: his mother, Elizabeth.
Elizabeth Kirkland attends Peggy’s talk about her work and quickly makes it known that she does not approve of Peggy’s profession.
Immediately after her introduction, Elizabeth Kirkland was already causing trouble for Peggy and her family, and that has continued intoThe Gilded Ageseason 3, episode 4. Dr. Kirkland seems perfectly nice, but his mother is very colorist, andshe is unabashedly prejudiced against Peggy and her family, particularly her father, Arthur Scott.
Elizabeth Kirkland attends Peggy’s talk about her work andquickly makes it known that she does not approve of Peggy’s profession. She comments on the danger of Peggy’s work, as well as commenting on Peggy’s father’s past as a former enslaved person, as she did in the previous episode.
The Scotts' interactions with Mrs. Kirkland are a different look at how prejudice can unfold.
Given the era thatThe Gilded Agetakes place in,it is important that the show contends with the time period’s realities for people of color.Though racism has come up in past seasons ofThe Gilded Age, the Scotts' interactions with Mrs. Kirkland are a different look at how prejudice can unfold, so it will be interesting to see how that story continues.
Ada’s Grief Has Led Her To An Unusual New Outlet
Ada Forte’s story throughoutThe Gilded Agehas arguably been one of the saddest. She was under the thumb of her controlling older sister, Agnes Van Rhijn, for her entire life before getting married, only to haveher husband, Luke Forte, die shortly after.
The Gilded Age season 3 has seen Ada left rudderless in her grief and attempting to cope in any way she can.
As a result,The Gilded Ageseason 3 has seen Ada left rudderless in her grief and attempting to cope in any way she can. At the beginning of the season, this took the form ofAda joining the temperance movementand trying to force others to do the same. However,Ada was offered a new option grieve for her loss of her husband.
Mrs. Bauer arranged for Ada to meet a medium, Madame Dashkova, who comes to the Van Rhijn house for a seance. The meeting is shortly interrupted by Agnes, but a desperate Ada is already convinced that she truly can communicate with Luke, hinting at another attempt inThe Gilded Age’s coming episodes.
